FEMA expected to scale back worst flood zones when maps are released

Toms River, Brick, Little Egg Harbor, Stafford would benefit the most

Jun. 14, 2013

Ron Jampel, founder of Save Our Communities, said he is pleased to hear that homes in the V Zones will be substantially redesignated. / Asbury Park Press File Photo

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Property owners in Toms River, Brick, Little Egg Harbor and Stafford will benefit the most from the scaling back of the worst flood zones when FEMA releases its “working” flood maps Monday, a FEMA official said Thursday night.

“The backbay areas are where you’ll see the most V Zone shrinkage,” said Bill McDonnell, the mitigation branch director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region II, which covers New Jersey. McDonnell is overseeing the rollout of the updated flood maps.

McDonnell said overall the V Zones in New Jersey will be scaled back “significantly,” but declined to provide more detail.

People in Atlantic, Hudson, Monmouth and Ocean counties will be able to see their true flood zones and where their home sits in relation to flood elevations. FEMA spokesman Chris Mckniff said the website that now allows residents to plug in their addresses and see the Advisory Base Flood Elevations and preliminary flood zones will be updated and live for the public Monday.

Many Sandy victims have been left in a quandary, not sure how high to elevate their homes or how much work needs to go into rebuilt foundations because the advisory flood maps were based on limited data. They’ve had to decide on whether to rebuild or wait. Watch the video above to see how high one Rumson family raised their home after Sandy.

Monday’s release will provide them with the information many have been waiting for — it’s just that it won’t be made final for at least a year and a half. The true flood and elevation levels expected Monday will form the basis for the regulatory process. Barring any successful challenges, that information will eventually set flood insurance premiums, McDonnell said.

FEMA released advisory flood maps in December, an unusual step to give Sandy victims a sense of how high they had to rebuild their storm-damaged homes while the mapping process continued. But the agency came under fire by grassroots groups who said the science was imperfect and placed too many homes in V Zones.

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The difference between being in a V Zone or the less-hazardous A Zone can be tens of thousands of dollars because of added measures to buttress a home from wave action.

A V Zone is one in which three-foot waves can batter a house in a storm with a 1 percent chance of occurring each year, what’s called a “100-year storm.”

Ron Jampel, founder of Save Our Communities, said he is pleased to hear that homes in the V Zones will be substantially redesignated. But Jampel is waiting to see for himself.

“They could still be troubling to a great many people who don’t deserve to be in the flood zones they remain in,” he said.

Jampel’s group is focused on other issues as well, like preventing homelessness among Sandy victims and skyrocketing property taxes.

Local officials were expected to be briefed today on the updated flood maps.

After the working flood maps are released, the next step comes in August when FEMA releases its “preliminary maps.” That starts the appeal and comment process in which towns, homeowners and others can challenge the data.

Once that process is complete, the final maps are expected to be released in late 2014 or early 2015, Mckniff said.